1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of masking an area of an object or member to prevent the area from being galvanized during the galvanizing of the member or object.
2. Description of the Related Art
Galvanizers have always had a very difficult time protecting threads and other areas from being galvanized on a galvanized product. In times past, the assignee of this invention, and other galvanizers, have used silicone to try and protect or mask the threads and other areas which they did not want to be galvanized during the galvanizing process. The theory behind using silicon is that it would protect the designated areas from the acid or pickling process and the flux process. Protecting these areas from these processes prevented the hot dip galvanizing from bonding to the surface. However, the process of using silicon in an attempt to protect or mask the areas is not effective. In general, about 80% of the areas protected with silicon need additional clean up, including tapping threads and reheating or melting the galvanizing off the protected areas. The failure of the prior art methods of masking areas or threads of the member being galvanized spurred the inventors named herein to develop an improved process.